$18M settlement for RNC arrests

NEW YORK (AP) -- Lawyers say New York City has agreed to pay $18 million to settle dozens of lawsuits filed by protesters and others who say they were wrongly arrested at the 2004 Republican National Convention.

The terms of the settlement were announced Wednesday. It still must be approved by a federal judge.

More than 1,800 people were arrested, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct or parading without a permit. Hundreds sued, saying they were illegally arrested by an overzealous police department.

The city had defended the NYPD, saying 800,000 people demonstrated during the convention and only a small fraction of them were arrested.

The law department says the city did not admit guilt.

The lawyers for those who sued are planning a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

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